Inexpensive wine recommendation.

[hippywife]

Yeah, I know...I haven't drank anything really in many years, but I do still miss having a nice glass of wine with dinner.

I went to the wine shop yesterday to find an inexpensive red to put in my Sunday gravy today. I picked up a bottle that was only $3.99. It's Tisdale Merlot out of Modesto, CA. It doesn't even have a vintage year on the bottle.

I poured a little bit in a glass to taste while I was cooking and was really surprised. It's a nice fruity wine, not in the least sweet and it's very smooth. I always expect a cheap red to be somewhat more harsh, but it wasn't at all. It was very good with a nice berry flavor.

So if you aren't near a Costco where they sell two-buck Chuck, this is a good replacement.

[WhiteTara]

1. when I lived on the west coast, I never paid more than $4.00

a bottle. Now that I'm in Arkansas, there is NOTHING less than $9.00. And it was stuff I wouldn't drink before. I finally found a nice Australian merlot (Foxhorn) for about $8.00 a liter and a half bottle.

[hippywife]

2. I'm right next door

in Oklahoma, and haven't drank anything alcoholic for years. If I need to get wine for cooking, I have to make sure to do it by Saturday coz they're not allowed to sell any alcohol on Sundays, still! :eyes:

:hi:

[GoCubsGo]

3. Thanks for the recommendation. Here's another rec....

Tisdale is sold around here for around three bucks per bottle. I'll have to give it a shot some time. I haven't tried it because we have an Aldi here. They sell Winking Owl for $2.99. I understand it comes from Gallo Wineries. I like the Shiraz, and the Merlot and Cab are also decent. In fact, I like the Shiraz better than some more expensive bottles I've had recently.

[Warpy]

4. Just about anything for more than five bucks that comes from California

is a good deal. California plonk is vastly superior to the red ink from any of the wine snob countries. If it comes in a bottle with a cork, you pretty much can't go wrong because some care was taken to monitoring the chemistry before bottling.

Still, taste it before you cook with it to make sure it hasn't gone horribly wrong while it's aged in the bottle. Anything you can sip and enjoy is fine to cook with.

If it makes you make a face, something's wrong with it and it'll ruin your food.

For the record, I like Beringer's selection. It's more expensive than a lot of them but since I cook with it and don't guzzle it, I pay the price.

[beac]

7. Good advice to taste before adding to your dish. One in eight bottle of wine is

"corked", so I am told.

This is also why people should never be shy about sending back wine in a restaurant. If it tastes bad, it probably IS bad. And the restaurant gets reimbursed by the distributor, so you aren't hurting them by asking for a new bottle.

[WhiteTara]

9. my personal rule for wine is

older than 2 years for red, less than 2 years for white. For drinking, minimum 13% alcohol, for cooking, it can be as low as 11%.

[Arkansas Granny]

22. I like the Beringer's, too. I don't cook with it often, but I enjoy a glass now and then.

[Dover]

5. I rarely drink it anymore either. But I too enjoy using wine for cooking so I buy

my favorite smoothm enjoyable cheap wine, Ste. Genevieve (a Texas wine). I don't like buying the large bottles for cooking however, because unless we serve the remainder as a drink with the meal I've got a lot leftover which just goes bad. What a waste! So instead I buy them in the small pint sized bottles that come in a four pack, usually white an/or merlot. I'll look for Tisdale next time and give it a try.


Fun fact: Did you know that Texas had an established wine industry well before California? However, Prohibition ruined it and current 'dry laws' are still holding it back in many counties although overall it's been experiencing a renaissance in Tx. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_wine


My favorite, relatively inexpensive($12), drinking wine these days is Smoking Loon Pinot Noir from California. And apparently others enjoy it as well because I often get asked about it when I do serve it and now find friends serving it too for casual get-togethers.


I wish Two-Buck Chuck was available around here. I had it in another state while vacationing and absolutely loved it! And it had nothing to do with its low price.


BTW - This is a great (and even surprising) article about BOX WINES for the casual drinking connoissuers.
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/print?oid=517615

[beac]

6. What a coincidence! We drank our first bottle of Tisdale Merlot last week (also lured in

by the low, low price.) Since that was not bad for the price, I bought a bottle of their Cabernet at the store yesterday. Haven't opened it yet. Will report back when we drink it. :)

[hippywife]

8. That IS a coincidence.

I never would have bought it if it were just to drink, even though I know there are some very good inexpensive wines out there. I would have bought Chateau St. Michelle or Clos du Bois. This was definitely a great surprise and a little better than not bad, I thought. I love when things happen like that. :D

Look forward to hearing your review of the Cabernet.

[beac]

10. We usually spring for a decent bottle, but I couldn't resist the bargain and

I always feel safer trying a cheap bottle of red vs. a cheap white. Life's been a little rough, so we've been treating ourselves to wine with dinner more often. And if that bottle isn't breaking the bank, I'll feel a little less guilty.


(And leave it to you to find a wine-swilling emoticon. :) )

[hippywife]

11. I'm sorry life isn't running

smoothly for you right now. I hope things aren't too terrible and get better for you really soon. :hug:

(I can do margaritas, too. LOL )

:rofl:

[beac]

12. Thanks, hw.

We are definitely overdue for some good news about now. I'll keep your margarita offer in mind when we have something happy to toast (which had jolly well better be soon or the fine people at Tisdale may run out of product!)

[Stinky The Clown]

13. The wine biz today is such that it is almost impossible to get a bad bottle of wine

For four bux you can expect what you got - a perfectly drinkable, if unexciting, wine. Ten bux starts getting quite complex, Fifteen bux is seriously good wine. Twenty bux makes your socks go up and down. Fifty comes with a casket and a one way ticket to heaven.

[hippywife]

14. There were a couple of bottles

we tried just for drinking a few weeks ago that I would definitely not purchase again. One was Barefoot Riesling, pretty tart and not very enjoyable. Bill, never a real wine drinker and still isn't, picked up a large bottle of Gallo Chardonnay, yuck!

I do love your descriptions. LOL Ought to make it into Stinky's Wine Chart. ;)

[Stinky The Clown]

17. Barefoot is a brand that appears regularly at pot lucks out this way

Drinkable, nice enough wines. Again, not exciting but not bad.

[EFerrari]

15. Hard to rec because stuff that is inexpensive out here

is not in other states. I couldn't believe what they charge for CA wine in TX, for example.

But, the Barefoot label does pretty well across the board, reds & whites. It's about $5 a bottle here.

ETA: I see your post about the Riesling and admit, I've never tried that. Their chard is okay, merlot and cab ditto.

[hippywife]

16. Hi, Beth!

I imagine if that Tisdale was only $3.99 here in OK, it must be next to nothing out there. :hi:

[GoneOffShore]

18. Big House Red or White in a box.

Not bad stuff.

[Retrograde]

19. Trader Joe's carries Two-Buck Chuck

at least in California. The same guy who produces it has a second label, also $2, that some local grocery stores carry.

Two Buck Chuck can be very variable: the producer, who knows everybody in the business, buys up odds and ends from various wineries and blends what he has, so sometimes - like with the current case of merlot we have - you get a decent cheap bottle, other times it's barely good enough for deglazing a pan.

Gallo has some decent lower-priced wines, but it's been a while since I've bought any.

[Tanuki]

20. We recently tried an Australian wine called "4 Emus"

The price was good, and we all enjoyed it with dinner and vowed to buy it again.

[beac]

21. Report on Tisdales I have tried:

So far, my favorite has been the Shiraz. Definitely tastes like it costs more that $3.99. The Cabernet is also decent as is the Chardonnay. They aren't going to knock your socks off, but $4 for a bottle to go with a simple supper on the porch is a mighty good deal in my book.

[pengillian101]

23. Well, I am more of a beer gal, myself

My sis liked wine and gave it up all-together also. Too much anything runs in families for certain.

Hia hippywife! :wave: